Stencil attaching means for manifold printer



Aug. 27, 1957 H.- HARTMANN N 2,804,013 STENCIL ATTACHING MEANS FOR MANIFOLD PRINTER Filed Nov. 12, 1953 Unite States STENCIL ATTACHENG MEANS FOR MANIFOLD PRINTER Heinrich Hartmann, Hannover-Kleefeld, Germany Application November 12, 1953, Serial No. 391,699

7 Claims. (Cl. lill-128.1)

This invention relates to manifold printing apparatus and more particularly to stencil attaching means therefor.

In rotating manifold printers of the rotary drum type, the rod or bar to which the stencils are fixed is at the top of the drum when the machine is in operative position, that is to sa` when the drum operating crank points downwards. lf one wishes to remove the stencil, which is retained by means of pins, hooks, 'clips or the like, one must turn the crank backwards to position the drum so that the stencil can be gripped at its end to remove it from the drum. The end of theV stencil is covered with ink and, therefore, the operators fingers are usually soiled when removing a stencil, especially as the stencil is soft and difficult to grip. Moreover, the aforementioned retainers tend to damage the cooperative parts of the stencil so that it cannot be reused, at least without repair of such damaged parts.

Having in `mind the defects of the prior art =arrange ments, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide stencil attaching means enabling quick and easy attachment or removal of a stencil. p

It is another object of the invention to provide stencil attaching means that will effect accurate `positioning of the stencil` without damaging the attachment portions thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide stencil attaching means that will protect the attachment portions of the stencil from being Vsoiled by the printing ink and will enable handling of aused stencil withoutsoiling the operators fingers.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide stencil attaching means having simplicity in design, economy in construction and efficiency in operation.

The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto, according to the present invention, are preferably accomplished, briefly, by providing an attachment bar adapted to be mounted on a printing machine with spaced recesses and aligned pairs of pins movable into and from said recesses atfopposite` sides thereof, and iiaps on `the head of a stencil insertable in said recesses,`each flap `having asleeve along its outer free edge for removably receiving said pins to form a hinge therewith. The recesses and flaps may have complementary configurations and preferably are of a dovetail shape to accurately position the stencil and lock the stencil to the bar. The flap portions preferably are relatively stiff or resilient so that the sleeves are readily entered by the pins and also so that the flaps will tend to lift from the recesses when the pins are withdrawn from the sleeves to facilitate grasping the flaps.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional Objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters indi- 2,84,@l3 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 ice cate like parts throughout the several figures and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of stencil attaching means according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View in perspective of a stencil flap in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective of a modified flap structure;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in perspective of a portion of the attachment bar and of a stencil with one of the stencil flaps about to be attached to or removed from the bar, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified stencil flap arrangement. l

Referring to the drawing in detail, specifically to Fig. l, a stencil attaching means in accordance with the press ent invention comprises an attachment bar 1 adapted to be secured to a manifold printing machine by apertures 2 and 3 adjacent the respective ends of the bar. The bar l is provided with a plurality of upstanding blocklike lugs 2l and 22 which are arranged in pairs with the lugs of each pair spaced apart to define recesses d opening through one longitudinal edge of the bar. The bar is provided with a longitudinal recess or rabbet Ztl along theopposite longitudinal edge thereof and a plurality of blocklike supports fd, l5 and/or i4', i5' are slidably mounted on the bar within the rabbet or recesses 2t) and with portions extending over the face of the bar in line with the lugs 22.

The block supports la and le' are provided with slots i7 longitudinally of the rabbet 2i? and the block supports ld', 15 are each provided with a spaced pair of aligned slots i7. As best shown in Fig. 2, a bushing 19 extends through each of the slots i7 or i7' and a screw 13 extends through each bushing 19 and is threaded into an aperture in the base of the bar El to thereby retain the respective supporting blocks in selected position. The extending portions of the supporting blocks 1li and 14 respectively carry pins il while the corresponding por-` tions of the blocks 15 and 1S respectively carry pins 12,

these pins being axially `aligned and extending toward each other.

The upstanding lugs 22 are provided with bores or channels for receiving the pins 1.3. and 1E and these pins are of sufficient length to extend into the recesses 8 from opposite sides thereof when the supporting blocks i4, l5, 14.- and 15 are moved toward each other to the limit imposed by the upstanding lugs 22. Each of the supporting'blocks ifi, 15, 14 and l5 is provided with an opstanding finger grip or handle 7f3 and the blocks "la and 15, shown at the left end of Fig. l, are resiliently biased toward each other by a spring le which is tensioncd between the two blocks. p

For cooperation with the foregoing attaehmentbar l, a stencil 5 is provided with a head portion l having a plurality of iiaps` o extending therefrom. The iiapso preferably correspond in number, spacing, size and shape with the recesses S. Preferably, both the recesses d and the flaps 6, as shown in Figs. l, 3, 4 and S, are of a cornplementary dovetail configuration and the flaps 6 are adapted to nest snugly within the recesses Alternatively, these flaps may be of other shapes as, for example, the square or rectangular iiaps '7 shown in Fig. 6. However, the dovetail flaps are preferred because of their interlocking with the recesses 3 to accurately position the stencil 5 relative to the bar l.

Each of the flaps 6 or 7 is provided with a sleeve 9 along its free edge, as best shown in Fig. 3, for reception of the pins 11 `and 12 to thereby form a hinge with the pins. The flaps may be formed of a stiff or resilient material, such as thin sheet metal, or they may be formed of cloth or paper and stiiened by impregnation with paraffin, sterrin or the like so that the flap and the sleeve will be somewhat resilient. Moreover, the sleeve 9 may be reinforced by a liner tube 10 which may be formed of an elastic or thermoplastic material, as shown in Fig. 4. Conveniently, the flaps may also be provided with the usual keyhole type openings 23 for cooperation with the usual headed pins on the printing machine drum in the event that an attachment bar 1 is not on the machine.

In operation, the supporting blocks'14, 15 and/or 14', 15', which ever type is employed, are released by loosening their respective screws 18 and then moved apart by means of their finger grips 13 to slide the pins 11 and 12 from the recesses 8 and within the boundaries defined by the lugs 21 and 22. If the supporting blocks are the type shown at 14 and 15, and are spring biased toward each other, then the stencil may be first juxtaposed with the head 4 thereof against the longitudinal edge of the bar 1 and the flaps 6 partially seated in the Vrecesses 8, as shown in Fig. 5,

The finger grips 13 of the blocks 14 and 15 are then pressed apart by the fingers to retract the pins 11 and 12 after which the respective flap 6 is pressed down into the respective recess 8 until the sleeve 9 is aligned with and between the pins. The dovetail shape of the flap and recess facilitates this alignment. Upon alignment, the finger grips 13 may be released whereupon the spring 16 biases the blocks 14 and 15 toward each other so that the pins 11 and 12 are inserted into the sleeve 9, as shown in Fig. 1. The screws 18 are then tightened to lock the supporting blocks 14 and 15 into position.

Obviously, the blocks 14 and 15 may be moved apart when the screws 18 are loosened and released for insertion of the flaps 6 in the recesses 8, and then `after the aps are nested with their sleeves aligned with their respective pins 11 and 12, the blocks 14', 15' can be moved toward each other and locked into position by tightening their screws 18. To remove a stencil 5, the foregoing procedure is reversed and due to the stiftening of the flaps 6, their free edge portions tend to spring up from the recesses 8, as shown in Fig. 5. During operation of the machine, the aps 6, being nested within the recesses 8, are not engaged by the inking mechanism and consequently are clean and will not soil the fingers when the stencil is removed.

In addition to the advantage of ease of operation and lack of soiling of the fingers, the use of the hinge connection afforded by the sleeves 9 as compared with f the usual attachment openings 23 has the advantage that the sleeves are not torn or distorted so that the stencil may be reused without a loss of efliciency in the attaching means. Moreover, the sleeve arrangement accommodates a greater tension on the stencil and will not permit the stencil to snap away from its attachment as happens occasionally with the keyhole openings 23 and the headed pin type of attachment. The pins 11 and 12 and sleeves 9 provide a hingelike attachment which enables lifting of the stencil for examination.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Means for attaching stencil sheets to manifold printers, comprising an attachment bar to be fixed to a printer and having a plurality of recesses, and a stencil head for a stencil sheet, a plurality of spaced apart flaps extending beyond the stencil head and respectively insertable in said recesses to prevent lateral displacement of such flaps, means on each flap defining one half of a pivot connection, further means on the attachment bar and movable relatively to the bar for coacting with each ap to define the other half of the pivot connection, and means cooperating with the further means and releasably maintaining the further means in engagement with the means on each ap yet permitting the further means to be moved out of engagement with the flap means so that the aps may be attached to the -attachment bar or removed therefrom without soiling the fingers.

2. Stencil attaching means as defined in claim 1 wherein the flaps and the recesses are of dove tail configuration. Y

3. Stencil attaching means as defined in claim 1 wherein the means on each ap is a sleeve and the further means on the attachment bar are pins movable into and out of the sleeve.

4. Stencil attaching means as defined in claim 3 wherein a reinforcing tube is inserted in the said sleeve.

5. Stencil attaching means as defined in claim 1 wherein the means cooperating with the further means comprises resilient means normally maintaining said further means in engagement with said ap means.

6. Stencil attaching means as defined in claim 5 wherein the means on each flap is `a sleeve and the further means are diametrically opposed pins movable into each recess, each pin being carried by a member slidable transversely of the attachment rod with the resilient means connected to such members to normally urge them together.

7. Stencil attaching means las claimed in claim 6 wherein the resilient means is a tension spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 786,634 Dick Apr. 4, 1905 2,166,907 Herterich July 18, 1939 2,579,517 Rowell et al. Dec. 25, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 717,420 Germany Feb. 13, 1942 113,938 Sweden May 2, 1945 57,638 Y The Netherlands June 15, 1946 

